TechHivehttp://www.techhive.com
TechHive helps you find your tech sweet spot. We guide you to products you'll love and show you how to get the most out of them.en-usSun, 02 Aug 2015 11:23:49 -0700Sun, 02 Aug 2015 11:23:49 -0700Wi-Fi sensibility: Not really risky, but not really neededFri, 31 Jul 2015 11:33:00 -0700Glenn FleishmanGlenn Fleishman

Windows 10—bear with me—has shipped, but this column isn’t about the new operating system, which has received generally positive reviews from our friends at PCWorld and elsewhere. Rather, it’s about a feature that started receiving attention a few weeks before release and more on the ship date: Wi-Fi Sense.

Wi-Fi Sense allows Windows 10 users to connect automatically to open Wi-Fi networks, as well as to share access to Wi-Fi networks for which they have passwords. The former isn’t controversial at all: iOS allows carriers to set up automatic connections to networks they run or partner with as of several releases ago. Many apps for mobile devices and computers also allow this.

Comcast must not have liked what it saw in Sling TV’s new ad campaign, which provides an unflattering view of the cable-TV industry.

According to Sling TV, Comcast-owned NBC has refused to air Sling TV ads on its owned-and-operated stations in several markets, including San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.. The ads depict “Old TV” employees as mean children, using bully tactics to extract payments from their adult customers.

Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch told Business Insider that it submitted the ads to eight local television markets. Some stations in these markets are independently-owned affiliates, while others are owned and operated directly by ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. The NBC stations were the only ones to refuse to run the ads, according to Lynch.

Yet another TV maker is calling it quits on the hyper-competitive U.S. market, while keeping the brand name alive through licensing.

This time the victim is Sharp, which plans to sell its manufacturing plant in Mexico and license its brand name to Hisense for the Americas, Reuters reports. The news follows an especially rough quarter for Sharp, in which it posted an operating loss of nearly $232 million.

“Sharp has not been able to fully adapt to the intensifying market competition, which led to significantly lower profits compared to the initial projections for the previous fiscal year, and has been suffering from poor earnings performance,” the company said in a statement.

Amazon’s Echo is the best voice-controlled product that I’ve seen at the consumer level. It’s versatile, powerful, and amazingly quick to recognize your speech and then do something, whether that’s answering a trivia question, playing music, giving you the weather forecast, or controlling your home’s lighting.

And those are just a few of the things the Echo can do; it’s capable of many other functions: Alarm clock, kitchen timer, shopping-list manager, news and sports-scores reporter, and more. But what will really blow your mind is just how fast the Echo will recognize your speech and then act.

As with much of Amazon’s hardware, you’ll get the most benefit from the Echo if you subscribe to Amazon services, especially Amazon Prime. Once it’s linked to your account, you can have it play audiobooks using Audible, play music from your Amazon Prime music library, and even order products based on voice commands.

The music industry is a fractious and combative bunch, forever at war within and without, it seems. Now we hear that a fresh dispute is brewing, this time between the major music labels and the video- streaming giant YouTube.

According to the New York Post, Universal, Sony and Warner are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with YouTube’s monetization efforts. The labels reportedly feel the site isn’t serious when it comes to monetizing their content. Another gripe stems from how the Google-owned site retains complete control over everything from ad policy to the sales channel.

Truth be told, we were a little disappointed when we didn’t get a new Apple TV announcement during WWDC in June, but it looks like Apple is finally blowing the dust off its old streaming media device.

According to BuzzFeed, Apple is planning to announce a new Apple TV during its iPhone event in September—“for real this time.” BuzzFeed’s unnamed sources confirm that the next-generation Apple TV will be slimmer, come with Apple’s A8 processor, include more built-in storage, and will have a better operating system. This iteration of the set-top box will also support Siri voice commands and have a redesigned touch-pad remote control. Additionally, this new Apple TV will have its own App Store, with a developers kit that will also be announced at the event.

Microsoft’s rebranding of Xbox Music is nearly complete with the arrival of Groove music for Android and the web.

Both the Xbox Music website and Google Play app store listing now redirect to Microsoft Groove. There’s no difference in functionality, though the color scheme has switched from Xbox green to Microsoft blue.

Like its predecessor, Groove music consists of a few different services. Users can play music from OneDrive cloud storage for free, and they can purchase and play music from Microsoft’s digital storefront. There’s also a $10-per-month subscription service, Groove Music Pass, that offers Internet radio stations and millions of on-demand tracks.

When Deezer became the first subscription-based streaming-music service to integrate with rules-based automation engine IFTTT (If This Then That) last week, it was obvious that other services would follow suit over time. Few predicted that it would happen this soon.

Spotify has become the latest music streamer to hop on the IFTTT bandwagon. “The Spotify Channel makes it easy to find the right music for every moment—on your phone, laptop, tablet and more,” IFTTT wrote in a blog post announcing the new channel.

Being able to watch the news is one of the biggest reasons people stay tethered to an expensive pay-TV subscription. In a recent Comscore survey, 58 percent of subscribers said the news was important to their viewing habits—more than any other TV category.

But nowadays, you don’t need a cable TV package to stay informed. If anything, streaming video is a better way to keep up with the news, offering more choices and broader perspectives compared to the big cable-news networks. And in many cases, you don’t have to pay a dime.

Windows 10 brings a lot of good stuff to the table, but it also takes away some key functionality that Windows 7 users might miss. In Windows 10, you have to say goodbye to Windows Media Center and with it, the ability to play DVDs natively. Microsoft said in May it would have a native solution for DVD playback to make up for those who lost it.

Originally this app was supposed to show up later in the year, but Microsoft’s solution is already available. In my tests, however, the app doesn’t work perfectly. Luckily, there are other options.

Now, anyone with a Prime membership can buy a Dash Button for $5 apiece “while supplies last.” There are 18 buttons in total, covering popular brands such as Tide, Huggies, Gatorade, Gillette, and Clorox. Each button comes with adhesive for sticking it onto a dishwasher, kitchen counter, or cabinet wall. The buttons then connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

TP-Link has joined the ranks of companies shipping Powerline ethernet adapter kits that comply with the HomePlug AV2 standard with MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) capabilities. Like Netgear’s Powerline PL1200-100PAS, TP-Link’s TL-PA8030P KIT provides a power-pass-through, so you don’t lose the use of whatever power receptacle you plug the adapter into. But unlike any adapter in its class, these TP-Link adapters also provide three gigabit ethernet ports, where most adapters have just one.

Having multiple ethernet ports in the adapter could eliminate the need to deploy an ethernet switch when you need to add more than one hard-wired network client in a single location. If you need to support a cable or satellite set-top box, a media streamer, and a Blu-ray player, for instance, the TP-Link would have you covered.

Cord cutters who want HBO’s new over-the-top service HBO Now just gained another option: Verizon is offering the service to its FiOS and high-speed Internet customers for a 30-day free trial, starting today. The company also plans to offer HBO Now on its upcoming mobile video platform.

“Our customers want choice in accessing premium content when and where they choose, on a variety of devices,” said Ben Grad, executive director of content strategy and acquisition for Verizon in a press release. “HBO Now brings compelling content and choice to Verizon broadband customers today—and exciting possibilities for HBO content within Verizon’s pending mobile video service.”

Would you endure a single interactive advertisement in exchange for an hour of uninterrupted streaming music? Pandora hopes so.

The streaming music service has concocted a new type of advertisement, called Sponsored Listening, that’s meant to reward users who actually pay attention. Users who choose to participate must spend at least 15 seconds with an interactive ad, and the sponsoring brand then foots the bill for an hour of commercial-free music. Pandora has been beta testing Sponsored Listening since last September, and is now opening it up to all advertisers.

An ad from Land Rover, for instance, asks users to swipe on the screen to view the vehicle from various angles. Users might also be asked to swipe through multiple information panels—Pandora’s advertising site shows Red Bull as an example—or to sit through a video. New partners in the public launch include Corona, Gatorade, truTV, and Yuengling.

Presence Security, according to the company, is a complete security solution that combines the app with a raft of physical sensors. There are three different packages, each containing a different combination of sensors and catering to a different budget.

I took the $250 P2s for a spin this past week, and while they’re not bad, they’re also not perfect. Yes, the built-in 1200mAh battery is convenient (assuming you don’t mind multiple cords dangling from your ears), but it’s easy to tell that Phaz is a newcomer to the audio market.

The shiny, three-piece carbon fiber frame is relatively lightweight and sturdy, and it folds to allow the headphones to be easily packed away in the neoprene carrying case that comes in the box. The ear cups on my review unit are perforated black foam and fit comfortably over my ears. (Ear cups are available in bright orange, white, green, black, and purple; replacement cups cost $30 a pair.) The headband has a no-slip rubber lining and very little (zero) padding, which some people might find uncomfortable for long listening sessions.

If you check out the Apple Store online or in-person, you won’t find the famous smart thermostat co-created by former Apple exec Tony Fadell. In its place, the Apple Store is now selling the HomeKit-enabled Ecobee3.

That’s not to say that you can’t find non-HomeKit devices in Apple’s connected home section, but the Nest Thermostat isn’t most smart home devices, as Mashable points out. It’s probably the most well-known thermostat ever—save perhaps the near-ubiquitous Honeywell brand of not-so-smart home temperature regulators—and the most talked-about smart home device.

Streaming-music service Rhapsody (known as Napster in some markets) is beside itself with joy over a dramatic increase in its global subscriber base, which it says has swelled by a million users in the last 12 months, breaching the 3 million mark in the process. At no other point in its 13-year history has the company had it this good.

What’s baffling about this sudden change in the company’s fortunes is its timing. It coincides with a sharp rise in competition; a time when everyone from rapper-businessman hyphenates to some of the biggest tech companies in the world have their eyes on the streaming-music pie. So what’s fueling this growth? Well, it’s the competition.

Finding the right streaming media player used to be simple, but in recent years the number of hardware options have proliferated, features have grown more sophisticated, and price ranges have expanded in both directions.

At the same time, the number of streaming video apps has exploded, with most set-top boxes opening up their own app stores. That means you’re not just considering hardware and software, but ecosystems as well.

Our buying guide will arm you with everything you need to make an informed decision. First, we’ll explain all the potential factors for your purchase, then we’ll jump into reviews for the media streamers we think are most worthy of your attention: Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Nvidia Shield Android TV, and Roku 3.

If streaming media boxes were characters in Super Mario Kart, Roku 3 would be Mario. It’s not the fastest set-top box on the market, and it doesn’t have any particularly special gimmicks. But it’s a dependable, safe choice, with a gentle learning curve and a broad range of apps to suit most needs.

The 2015 Roku 3 retains the $100 price tag of previous models, but adds a microphone to the remote control for voice search. While Amazon’s Fire TV and Nvidia’s Shield Android TV also support voice search, Roku’s version works across a larger number of apps (including Netflix, which none of the others do). It’s a fast and useful feature, though not quite as accurate with hard-to-pronounce actor and director names as Amazon’s Fire TV.

The main thing to know about Chromecast is that you’ll either love it or hate it. Unlike every other media streamer in our buying guide, Google’s $35 TV dongle doesn’t include a proper remote control or an interface that you can navigate through the television. Everything’s controlled through a phone, tablet, or PC. Just hit the “Cast” button in supported apps such as Netflix or Hulu and the video starts playing on the big screen.

Some people will find this approach infuriating. Chromecast becomes worthless without a companion device within reach, which is a problem for folks who don’t tote their phones around the house or struggle to keep them charged through the end of the day. And for other people, there’s just no replacement for a physical remote control that works without having to look at it.

In a year or two, 4K resolution will likely be a standard feature in streaming media boxes. Until then, we have the Nvidia Shield Android TV. The Shield is more than just an Android TV set-top box with 4K streaming. It’s a lightweight gaming console, whose Tegra X1 processor can handle some modern games like Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, The Talos Principle, and Portal. It can also stream high-end games from the Internet using Nvidia’s GRID subscription service, and from networked PCs with Nvidia GeForce graphics processors on board.

All of this power comes at a cost, however; at $200 with 16 GB of storage (or $300 for a “Pro” version with 500 GB of storage), the Shield Android TV is twice the price of a Roku 3 or Amazon Fire TV, and nearly three times pricier than an Apple TV.

Apple TV is a set-top box battered by the forces of time. Now more than two years old, it’s showing its age in terms of interface and performance, and it might be replaced by a newer model in the near future. That could explain why Apple recently slashed the price from $99 to $69, giving it the distinction of being the cheapest top-shelf set-top box in our buying guide.

Despite being long in the tooth, this old Apple TV still has some redeeming qualities, especially for users who are deeply committed to the Apple ecosystem.

Jared Newman

It is widely speculated that the Apple TV will soon be replaced with a newer model, though there is no official word on that development.

If you’re a regular Amazon Instant Video watcher, your choice of set-top boxes is fairly simple. You could pick up a Roku 3, which has the simplest interface and the broadest selection of apps (including one for Amazon); but for serious Amazon Prime junkies, it doesn’t get any better than Amazon’s own Fire TV.

Jared Newman

An optical digital audio output lets you send sound to an outboard audio system, such as an older an AV receiver that doesn't have HDMI.

Feature-wise, there’s really not much of a difference between the many service providers jockeying for control of the streaming-music market. So when one of them does something as interesting as adding IFTTT (IF This Then That) support, you just can’t ignore it.

France-based Deezer has become the first subscription-based streaming-music service to integrate with popular automation engine IFTTT. The latter allows users to set up cause-and-effect relationships between any two services through simple rules or “recipes.” In Deezer’s case, for instance, there are recipes that automatically update your various social media profiles when you favorite a track. And for those who own Philips Hue color LED bulbs, there’s a recipe that dynamically syncs them with album art.

The maker of Slingbox and SlingPlayer is facing a lawsuit after inserting advertisements into its desktop software.

The lawsuit accuses Sling Media of a “bait and switch,” as customers Mark Heskiaoff and Marc Langenohl purchased their Slingboxes under the impression that the software was ad-free. They're currently seeking class action status for the lawsuit, filed last week according to Zatz Not Funny.

Slingbox is a line of set-top boxes that let users stream a pay-TV signal to other devices, both at home and outside the house. The hardware ranges from $150 to $300, with no recurring charge for the actual service. And while Sling has always charged for access to its SlingPlayer mobile apps, the desktop app for Slingbox 500 and M1 users has always been free.

Apple launched HomeKit last year to unite your smart home accessories under one framework. But we’ve only seen a handful of HomeKit-compatible devices on store shelves, and now manufacturers are saying Apple’s tough security demands are causing the delay.

Devices that use both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE are suffering the most, according to Forbes. Apple has stringent requirements for manufacturers aiming to get HomeKit-certified for Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi accessories: those devices must use 3072-bit keys and Curve25519, the 128-bit elliptic curve, for encrypted key exchange and digital signatures. Those security standards will help HomeKit devices protect against outside attacks, but they’re also causing lags in devices that are supposed to respond quickly to user requests. For instance, a smart door lock that takes seven minutes to open using Apple’s encryption requirements, or even 40 seconds, can’t compete with a dumb door lock that opens almost instantly.

Netflix is rolling out a new feature for its TV applications that seems like it could cause some confusion.

When users select a video from Netflix's main menu screen, playback will begin or resume automatically after a few seconds. Additional menu options, such as “Play from beginning” and “Episodes and more,” will remain on the screen as playback begins, and will fade from view after a few more seconds.

Previously, users had to navigate that second menu screen every time they selected a video. Netflix must have felt the screen was a point of friction for indecisive viewers.

“Video is a rich medium for storytelling and we’ve found bringing video playback into the content selection experience makes it easier to find something great to watch,” the company said in a blog post.

]]>http://www.techhive.com/article/2951768/streaming-services/netflixs-new-tv-interface-sounds-kind-of-iffy.html#tk.rss_all
Streaming ServicesComcast’s new streaming service is not as terrible as you might thinkThu, 23 Jul 2015 03:00:00 -0700Jared NewmanJared Newman

For instance, live streams won’t be available on connected TV devices such as Roku and Apple TV, nor will they work outside the house. Comcast has also deluded itself into thinking the new streaming plan will lure people back to expensive bundles, which makes this whole endeavor seem even more comical.